Failure to avoid fight often ends tragically

Published: Wednesday, July 17, 2013 at 12:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, July 16, 2013 at 11:16 a.m.

Some local attorneys quietly predicted George Zimmerman would be found not guilty, even after late in the trail when the judge allowed manslaughter to be considered. They reasoned there were only two people who truly knew what took place and, in a trial riddled with conflicting testimony, only one person was alive to tell the story.

Within the past two weeks there were multiple murders in various large cities across the country, around 50, for example reported in Chicago. Much of the nation, however, became engrossed in the Zimmerman trail for the better part of a month.

The Trayvon Martin shooting now has a Wikipedia entry.

Most believe the case was about race — Zimmerman of mixed descent and Martin, a young black teenager. The trial, however, became more about law and the prosecution's failure to prove its case. From the start, second-degree murder would be difficult to prove. As one pundit said, it would be nearly impossible to prove that Zimmerman intended to kill the young man at any point in the altercation.

When the prosecution felt the case slipping away, it attempted to invoke a third charge — child abuse — which seemed a stretch.

As it were, we watched from afar and caught snippets of testimony and drew our own conclusions, much as we did during the trials of O.J. Simpson, Robert Blake, Claus Von Bülow and Casey Anthony.

There were intriguing questions that went unanswered, not the least of which was why the defendant had no blood on his clothing if in fact Martin was on top of Zimmerman during the fight when the fatal shot was fired.

To the credit of both families, the Zimmermans and Martins, they have asked for calm to prevail as protests crop up across the country. Reportedly, both families have received death threats.

To be sure, life will never be the same for either family. The Martins have lost a son and will never believe justice has been served. Zimmerman may be a free man, but he's a marked man in many ways. He will likely spend the rest of his life in hiding.

One of the few things certain in the case is that one of the two, or perhaps both, could have avoided a confrontation on the night in question.

If we can take anything away from this case, it would be a lesson in walking, or running, away when we sense the possibility of trouble.

<p>Some local attorneys quietly predicted George Zimmerman would be found not guilty, even after late in the trail when the judge allowed manslaughter to be considered. They reasoned there were only two people who truly knew what took place and, in a trial riddled with conflicting testimony, only one person was alive to tell the story.</p><p>Within the past two weeks there were multiple murders in various large cities across the country, around 50, for example reported in Chicago. Much of the nation, however, became engrossed in the Zimmerman trail for the better part of a month.</p><p>The Trayvon Martin shooting now has a Wikipedia entry.</p><p>Most believe the case was about race — Zimmerman of mixed descent and Martin, a young black teenager. The trial, however, became more about law and the prosecution's failure to prove its case. From the start, second-degree murder would be difficult to prove. As one pundit said, it would be nearly impossible to prove that Zimmerman intended to kill the young man at any point in the altercation. </p><p>When the prosecution felt the case slipping away, it attempted to invoke a third charge — child abuse — which seemed a stretch.</p><p>As it were, we watched from afar and caught snippets of testimony and drew our own conclusions, much as we did during the trials of O.J. Simpson, Robert Blake, Claus Von Bülow and Casey Anthony. </p><p>There were intriguing questions that went unanswered, not the least of which was why the defendant had no blood on his clothing if in fact Martin was on top of Zimmerman during the fight when the fatal shot was fired.</p><p>To the credit of both families, the Zimmermans and Martins, they have asked for calm to prevail as protests crop up across the country. Reportedly, both families have received death threats.</p><p>To be sure, life will never be the same for either family. The Martins have lost a son and will never believe justice has been served. Zimmerman may be a free man, but he's a marked man in many ways. He will likely spend the rest of his life in hiding.</p><p>One of the few things certain in the case is that one of the two, or perhaps both, could have avoided a confrontation on the night in question.</p><p>If we can take anything away from this case, it would be a lesson in walking, or running, away when we sense the possibility of trouble.</p>